Engine with reciprocating pistons



May 23, 1961 Filed July 28, 1959 A. SCHEITERLEIN ENGINE WITHRECIPROCATING PISTONS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 M y 23, 1961 A. SCHEITERLEIN2,985,156

ENGINE WITH RECIPROCATING PISTONS Filed July 28, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2May 23, 1961 A..SCHEITERLEIN ENGINE WITH RECIPROCATING PISTONS SSheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 28, 1959 FIG. 4

ENGINE wrrn RECIPROCATING PISTONS Andreas Scheiterlein, Zimmerplatzgasse1, Graz, Austria, assignor to Hans List, Graz, Austria 7 Filed July 28,1959, Ser. No. 830,079 Claims priority, application Austria Aug. 30,1958 Claims. (Cl. 123-4154) The invention relates to, the design of thecrankcase housing of piston engine assemblies for the purpose of usingthe same housing for different applications of the engine and foressentially diflerent operating conditions. The advantages of such ahousing reside in the possibility of low-cost serial production ofvoluminous and complicated castings which is in this instance extendedto such machines, so far precluded from the benefit of these advantages,as have to be produced in comparatively small numbers in view ofalterations in design which are necessary to suit a variety of differentoperating conditions and applications. Formerly, this involved thenecessity of producing three or four different types of housings whereasa single type of housing will be suflicient if the features according tothe invention are applied. The consequent rise in manufacturing numbersfor a housing designed according to the invention to three or four timesthe production number of each of the conventional types of housingsrenders serial production with its inherent advantages possible. Inaddition, the application of the features of the invention will producecertain advantages related to the resistance of the crankcase housing tovarious stresses.

The scope of the suggestions according to the invention comprises thesector of internal combustion engines with cylinders arranged inV-configuration or in a single row and simultaneously combinedmachine-and-drive assemblies such as in particular,engine-and-compressor assemblies with engine and compressor cylindersarranged in V-configuration, the design of the engine permitting inevery case indiscriminately either two or four-stroke operation of theengine unit. In addition, the housing according to the invention allowsin every possible application the use of air or liquids for the coolingof the engine unit or of the whole assembly, thus providing foradaptation to various operating conditions within wide limits.

The crankcase of the engine according to the invention designed toreceive two rows of cylinders arranged in V-configuration presents portson both sides as already envisaged for a crankcase of a two-strokeinternal combustion engine with cylinders in V-configuration withuniflow scavenging, the extremities of the cylinders protruding into thecrankcase through said ports, reinforcing elements of a closed,preferably rectangular cross-section extending alongside the surface ofattachment between the cylinders and the crankcase housing and over theentire length of the housing. According to the invention, thesereinforcing elements are formed with internal components and with ductsfor the collection and delivery of working materials for the operationof the piston engine. Depending on the conditions in which the crankcaseis utilised, these ducts communicate through appropriate ports in thereinforcing ribs with the intakes and outlets for the working materialsused as well as with the manifolds for these materials in such sectionsof the piston engine as are, in individual cases, attached to thecrankcase. These ports are an essential tes atent ice prerequisite tothe versatility of the crankcase according to the invention. By closingselected ducts, the reinforcing elements can be simply adapted toperform various distributing, collecting or discharging operations asmay be necessary for the different working materials such as lubricatingoil, cooling-water etc.

For the purpose of taking full advantage of the reinforcing effect dueto the particular cross-section, the longer sides of the cross-sectionof the reinforcing elements are preferably arranged parallel to the axesof the adjacent row of cylinders as has already been suggested for aconventional type of crankcase, providing, however, for internal ribsextending parallel to the housing wall in the area between thecylinders.

It has been known to provide continuous reinforcing cavities extendingalong crankcases either in the sidewalls of the crankcase or outwardlyon said walls and constituted by laterally spreading skirtings. Thearrangement of the reinforcing elements alongside the surfaces ofattachment of the rows of cylinders which represent the basic feature ofthe invention is superior to the conventional design insofar as thesidewalls and the cylindersupporting closing plates of the crankcasebenefit simultaneously from the reinforcing action. This results inlesser Wall thicknesses particularly as compared with the conventionalcrankcase housings for air-cooled internal combustion engines ofidentical design. The forme'rly necessary reinforcing ribs and flangesmay be dispensed with.

The compartments extending internally in relation to the rows ofcylinders are interconnected by means of transverse ducts.

In the case of valvecontrolled engines or of a valvecontrolled engineunit of an assembly, another feature of the invention provides for thearrangement of the valve tappets on the outer side of the row of enginecylinders, said tappets traversing the reinforcing element located atthis point and designed to receive and discharge the lubricating oilflowing out of the valve gears.

In this capacity the reinforcing element traversed by the tappetsdiffers considerably from the previous suggestion to provide cavities inthe crankcase for the supply of lubricating oil to auxiliary machinesattached to the sides of the crankcase, said cavities extendinglongitudinally over the entire length of the engine, wherein balancingshafts extend through the crankshaft housing. These cavities arearranged inside the crankshaft housing approximately at mid-height andare contrary to the design of the housing according to the invention, ata considerable distance from the surface of attachment for the enginecylinders. As a result, the reinforcing action of these cavities is lostto the said surface of attachment on the one hand, and the resistance tobending of the housing is, on the other hand, not increased to theextent attainable with the design of these housings according to theinvention.

Finally, if the engine is water-cooled, the reinforcing elements areused for the distribution of the coolant to the cooling jackets of therow of cylinders attached to the crankcase, unless they serve for thecollection and return of the lubricant.

Further details of the invention will appear from the followingdescription of several embodiments of the invention with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows a cross-sectionthrough a water-cooled engine-and-compressor assembly, I

Figure 2 a section on line 11-11 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 the utilization of the crankcase housing already illustrated inFigure 1 in connection with an aircooled engine-and-compressor assembly,

, Figure 4 illustrates the way in which the coolant is delivered anddirected to the rows of cylinders. At the same time, Figure 4 shows theuse of a housing according to the invention in conjunction with asingle-row engine.

In every instance, reference number 1 designates the crankcase housing,the reinforcing elements 2 to 5 of which extend on both sides of the tworows of cylinders. The cylinder liner 6 of the engine unit and 7 of thecompressor unit of the illustrated assembly protrude with their innerextremities into the crankcase, being in the case of a liquid-cooledunit (Figures 1 and 2) surrounded by the cooling jackets 8 and 9respectively, designed as a separate attachment of the housing 1. Thecylinder head 10 of the engine unit operating in a four-stroke cycle inthe design shown in Figure 1 comprises valves 11 actuated by tappets 12located at the side of the cooling jacket of the engine cylinders. Thetappet guide 14 is arranged below the stiffening or reinforcing element2 so that if the engine unit of the assembly is to operate in atwo-stroke cycle, the parts located outside the housing only will haveto be exchanged and the reinforcing element 2 situated on the side ofthe valve tappets can be used for the collection and delivery of thelubricant flowing away from the valve gear through the tappet chamber13. The discharged lubricant passespreferably through the ducts ofreinforcing element 2into the oil well 15 at the bottom of the housingcontaining the crankshaft 16.

In water-cooled units the reinforcing elements 3 to 5 serve not only toreinforce the housing 1 but also to direct and distribute thecooling-water. In the example illustrated in Figure 4, the cooling-wateris sucked in by the cooling-water pump 18 through the duct 19 andthrough the connection piece 20 of the water reservoir or cooler (notshown) and delivered to the compartments of the reinforcing elements ofthe crankcase housing through the duct 21. It preferably reaches thelowermost element 5 before reaching the other reinforcing elements. Asappears from Figure l, the water distributed by the reinforcing element5 over all of the compressor cylinders flows through connecting ducts 22into the cooling jackets 9 around the compressor cylinders from where itpasses through cooling-water ducts 23 into the compartment of theelement 4 situated at a higher level. As appears from Figure 2,partitions 24 force the coolingwater through the ducts 23. The waterenters the element 4 through the upper connecting ducts 25, from whereit passes through transverse ducts 26 into the compartment of theelement 3 for the engine cylinders, distributing it also over the entirelength of the housing to the various cylinders of theengine unit. Afterpassing the cooling jacket 8 and the ducts in the cylinder heads of theengine unit, the cooling-water is again returned to the reservoir orcooler.

If the housing is used for a single-row internal combustion engine, itsadaptation for that purpose requires only the additional elements shownin Figure 4. In that case, the ports of the horizontal housingattachment which otherwise serve to receive the cylinders, are closed.by covers 17 the cavity 27 of which provides a connection between thesuperimposed elements and 5. The resulting resistance to the flow of thecoolant is solely dependent upon the design of the closing members, butcan in any case be held to a negligible minimum as there are norestrictions affecting their design.

in accordance with the basic idea of the invention the housing can alsobe used for air-cooled units as shown in Figure 3. In this illustration,identical parts are designated by the corresponding reference numbers ofthe other figures, thus explaining also the function of this embodimentof the invention.

a The engine cylinder 28 and the compressor cylinder 29. are nowprovided with cooling ribs. In this case, theoverflow ducts 22, 25, fit)of the reinforcing elements 35- are closed by plugsfiji. The lubricantemerging d from the valve gear is returned through sheathings 32 of thevalve tappets 12. In accordance with an approved design, the cooling-airblower 34 is located in the housing between the rows of cylindersserving for the distribution of the cooling air.

If the housing is used with a single row of cylinders, that is, with asingle-row engine, closing plates are substituted for the compressorcylinders since as different from the elements to be provided forwater-cooling systems under identical conditions, no cavities arerequired for the connection between the overflow ducts 22 and 25. Inthis case, the cooling-air blower 34 in Figure 3 is replaced by asheathing through which the entire air delivered by the blower isdirected to the engine cylinders.

The above-mentioned structural means refer to certain embodiments of theinvention without restricting its scope in any sense whatsoever.Obviously, the application of measures according to the invention in thedesign of the crankcase of engines with cylinders in V-configurationwith no working cylinders attached to the housing offers the sameadvantages as are recognizable in the examples of anengine-and-compressor assembly and of a single-row engine as hereabovedescribed. Besides, the application of the invention is not restrictedto engineand-compressor assemblies, but is advantageous for all unitswhere the same housing is alternatively used in connection with air orwater-cooling systems, since in these cases the reinforcement of thehousing results in a substantial improvement of the engine crankcase inView of the introduction into the crankcase of the forces trans: mittedby the cylinder bolts. 7

I claim: V i

1. A crankcase for use in internal combustion engines comprising ahousing formed with two exposed mutually inclined faces each parallelwith the axis of the housing, two pairs of elongated hollow stiffeningelements each forming part of said housing and each parallel with saidaxis, the stiffening elements of one of said pairs located adjacent tothe lateral edges of one of said faces and the stiffening elements ofthe other of said pairs located adjacent to the lateral edges of theother face, each stiffening element defining therewithin an elongatedcompartment and each formed with duct means constituting communicatingpassages between its compartment and the adjacent face, each pair ofsaid stiffening elements comprising a first and a second stiffeningelement respectively nearer to and more distant from the stiffeningelements of the other pair, said housing formed with transverse channelmeans for connecting the compartments of said first stiffening elements.

2. A crankcase for use in internal combustion engines comprising ahousing formed with two exposed mutually inclined faces each parallelwith the axis of the housing, two pairs of elongated hollow stiffeningelements each forming part of said housing and each parallel with saidaxis, the stiffening elements of one of said pairs located adjacent tothe, lateral edges of oneof said faces and the stiffening elements ofthe other of said pairs located adjacent to. the. lateral edges of theother face, each stiffening element defining therewithin an elongatedcompartment of substantially rectangular cross-sectional contour andeach stiffening element formed with duct means constitutingcommunicating passages between its compartment and the adjacent face,each pair of said stiffening elements comprising a first and a secondstiffen- 3. A crankcase for use in internal combustion enginescomprising a housing formed with two exposed mutually inclined faceseach parallel with the axis of the housing,

' two pairs of elongated hollow stiffening elements each forming .partof said housing, and each parallel with said adjacent to the lateraledges of one of said faces and the stifiening elements of the other ofsaid pairs located adjacent to the lateral edges of the other face, eachstiffening element defining therewithin an elongated compartment andeach formed with duct means constituting communicating passages betweenits compartment and the adjacent face, each pair of said stififeningelements comprising a first and a second stiffening element respectivelynearer to and more distant from the stifining elements of the otherpair, said housing formed with transverse channel means for connectingthe compartments of said first stiffening elements, and means forreleasably sealing selected duct means of said stifiening elements.

4. A crankcase for use in internal combustion engines comprising ahousing formed with two exposed mutually inclined faces each parallelwith the axis of the housing, two pairs of elongated hollow stiffeningelements each forming part of said housing and each parallel with saidaxis, the stifiening elements of one of said pairs located adjacent tothe lateral edges of one of said faces and the stiffening elements ofthe other of said pairs located adjacent to the lateral edges of theother face, each stifiening element defining therewithin an elongatedcompartment and each formed with duct means constiuting communicatingpassages between its compartment and the adjacent face, said housingformed with transverse channel means for connecting the compartment of astiffening element of said one pair with the compartment of a stifieningelement of said other pair, and cover means connected to one of saidfaces, said cover means formed with connecting channel meanscommunicating with the duct means of stiffening elements adjacent tosaid last mentioned face whereby the compartments of said last mentionedstiffening elements communicate with each other.

5. A crankcase usable for V-type internal combustion engines comprisinga crankcase housing formed with two cylinder supporting first wallportions and internal reinforcing second wall portions arranged in twopairs with each pair adjacent to one of said first wall portions, saidfirst and second wall portions forming internal compartments extendingalong said first wall portions and said first wall portions formed withduct means communicating with the respective compartments, thecompartments formed by one of said first wall portions and therespective second wall portions including a first and a secondcompartment respectively nearer to and more distant from the other firstwall portion, said housing formed with channel means for connecting saidfirst compartments with each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,611,620 Wall Dec. 21, 1926 2,058,705 Maniscalco Oct. 27, 19362,274,197 Godfrey Feb. 24, 1942 2,654,355 Scheiterlein Oct. 6, 19532,782,776 Kremser Feb. 26, 1957 2,852,009 Turlay Sept. 16, 1958 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,061,374 France Nov. 25, 1953

